Tea for twos, and twos for tea

Our much-anticipated tea party was this afternoon. I had wanted to have a Christmas tea, but Christmas came and went, so we had a mother-daughter tea and egg hunt instead. I had found these great (and cheap) demitasse cups at the Crate and Barrel outlet that were perfect for little "tea" drinkers. We had apple juice for the girls and real tea for the moms along with some tea cakes and other munchies. After getting the girls all "sugared" up, we headed to the front yard to hunt for eggs. Fortunately, after drizzling nearly all weekend it was beautiful outside. The girls ran around the yard collecting eggs, blew some bubbles, and drew some chalk art on the driveway. Emily preferred to sit on the stoop assessing her take from the egg hunt and managed to find and eat all the candy.

My new favorite cookie recipe is this old family tea cake recipe. It makes the cutest little round cookies that taste a lot like the frosted ones from the grocery store bakery:

Tea Cakes

mix together:

2 eggs

2/3 cup oil

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

then add:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Roll into 1 inch balls. Smoosh with a buttered glass dipped in colored sugar or sprinkles.

Bake at 375 for 8 minutes, makes about 3 dozen.

Make-ahead Monday

This week's make-ahead Monday was made-ahead on Monday for Tuesday because of the Presidents' Day holiday. I made six miniature meatloaves using three different recipes in no time at all. I tried to involve Emily as best as I could, letting her count, pour, and stir. We made the Joy of Cooking traditional meatloaf, their Italian meatloaf variant, and the Dinner Doctor Italian-style mini loaves. I like to make my meatloaf in mini loaf pans for faster cooking and more manageable leftovers. For dinner, we cooked one of the Joy of Cooking loaves and one of the Dinner Doctor loaves, had three servings left over for tomorrow, and froze the other four mini-loaves.

Joy of Cooking Meatloaf
24 oz. ground meat (I used half beef, half pork)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2/3 cup fresh parsely (I use the food processor to mince the onion and parsely)
1 cup breadcrumbs
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp thyme
2/3 cup ketchup
salt and pepper to taste

For Italian style add to the above,
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 cup grated parmesan
3 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp oregano

combine ingredients, do not overmix
bake mini loaf 45 minutes at 350 degrees

Make-ahead Mondays

In hopes of perpetuating this trend I've developed of making my Monday supper on Sunday night, I'm instituting "Make-ahead Mondays." Tonight's dish was a Chicago-style pizza.

Chicago-style pizza (the easy way)

refrigerated pizza crust--I like the fresh kind and would make my own in the bread machine if I could keep yeast "alive"
sliced mozzerella
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage, mild
can of crushed tomatoes
oregano, basil, crushed red pepper, garlic powder to taste
10" round cake pan.

Sunday night:
Spray cake pan, spread pizza dough across the bottom
lay cheese slices on dough
spread raw (yes, raw) sausage on the cheese, leaving about an inch of crust sticking out sides
cover with plastic wrap along the surface of the sausage and refrigerate

Monday night:
remove pizza from refrigerator to bring closer to room temperature
preheat oven to 425
spread crushed tomatoes, seasoned to taste, across sausage
bake 35-45 minutes until browned and bubbly.

Andy and I (wanna-be-foodies) enjoy eating our way through travels and trying to replicate local specialties when we get home. We rarely succeed completely, which keeps traveling interesting, but our copies are close enough to bring back fond memories of our travels. Tonight, we could smell Lou Malnati's without leaving home.

what's cookin', part deux

Ok, so I've fallen off the wagon already. My pot roast was less tender than previous attempts -- I'm blaming it on the onions that formed a sort of platform for the roast in the pot. I think it is more tender when it sits in its own grease (er, juices) all day instead of lofted above them on an onion. I couldn't face leftover roast or meatloaf last night. I literally took the meatloaf out of the fridge, put it on a plate to warm it, almost hurled, and put it right back into the fridge for safe keeping. So, I did a takeout double feature -- chinese for me, kabobs for Andy. Fortunately for our pocketbook, I was back on the wagon tonight with Dinner Doctor Popcorn Soup, sans the popped corn, and Jiffy cornbread. Tasty! I really try to avoid vegetables that come in cans, but this is hard to beat. Next time I might add some potatoes or cheese. We just might make it to the end of the week without another takeout meal. Dinner with friends on New Year's Eve doesn't count against us, does it?

Dinner Doctor Popcorn Soup

2 cans creamed style corn
1 can corn kernels
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups half-and-half
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 Tbl butter
1 tsp sugar

Heat corn, stock, half-and-half, and bouillon on medium heat, stirring frequently until hot but not boiling, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and sugar.

I used low sodium corn and free range broth. The recipe suggests topping with plain popcorn and a dash of pepper sauce. I served it with Jiffy cornbread in a cast-iron skillet.

Serves 4.

what's cookin'?

I'm not sure why, but every year around this time I go back through cookbooks old and new-- and the pile of magazine clippings I've circled and put in plastic pages in a binder--and reinvent my weekly routine. I think it's a combination of a jumpstart from all the holiday baking I've done, excitment about new cookbooks, and a determination to eat out less often. Don't worry, it doesn't last long. Soon enough we'll be back to the same-old-same-old. But, for the next few weeks anyway, I'm trying some new recipes and rediscovering some old ones. So far, we've had meatloaf and chunky mashed potatoes from Joy of Cooking (an oldie but goodie) and chicken scallopine with linguine from an old Southern Living (not so tasty). I like to make my meatloaf in three small loaf pans instead of one big one so that we cook two and freeze one.

Tonight, it's pot roast sort of from the Dinner Doctor but I'm mostly making it up as I go along. I found it strange that the Dinner Doctor doesn't include instructions for making the pot roast in a crock pot, and I'm too chicken to put a pot in the oven all afternoon, so I'm using the crock pot anyway. I threw in some potatoes and carrots near the end just for fun, though Emily is already telling me (over and over again) that she does not like carrots (must have eaten way too many as an infant.)

Later this week we'll have Dinner Doctor's corn soup and Bon Appetit's penne with tomato cream sauce. We'll see how they turn out.

All I want for Christmas . . .

Presents opened, check.
Meal eatened, check
Family entertained, check.
Conference call with distant relatives, check.
Dishes washed, check.
Nap taken, check.

Looks like Christmas was a success.

In some ways that really sums up our day. It is so easy for Christmas to seem like just the end of a very long holiday marathon. We rush through the day with the same fervor we rush through stores on Black Friday. I think, though, that since we did only breakfast instead of a late meal this year our rushing was done (and company had left) by noon, leaving us the whole rest of the day to . . . rest, and play, and enJOY each other. (We also got a few things done around the house.)

I made two recipes I got from my sister for Christmas breakfast this year. Both are very easy and very yummy. I served them with a simple fruit salad and orange juice with a dash of bubbly.

Eva's Breakfast Casserole

8 oz crescent rolls
1 lb bulk sausage
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
4 eggs
3/4 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Cook sausage and drain
Spray 9x13 pan
Line pan with crescent rolls
Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper
Layer sausage and cheese in the pan
Pour the egg mixture on top
Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes until egg is set. Serves 6.

Cinnamon Pull-Apart (aka Monkey) Bread

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbl cinnamon

3 cans (7.5 oz each) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1/2 cup butter, melted

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1-2 Tbl milk

Bread: Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in bowl or plastic baggie; set aside. Cut each biscuit in quarters. Roll in cinnamon-sugar. Place half of the biscuits in a greased fluted tube (bundt) pan. Drizzle half the butter over the biscuits. Place the remaining biscuits in the pan and drizzle with remaining butter and cinnamon-sugar. Bake 40-45 minutes until golden brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and invert onto serving plate.

Frosting: beat cream cheese and powdered sugar in small
bowl on medium speed until well blended. Add 1 Tbl milk; beat until well-blended. Beat in enough of the remaining milk until the glaze is the desired consistency. Drizzle over warm bread. Serve warm. Serves 6-8.